Tablets have been rooted firmly at the high-end of the mobile device market for some time, but are now starting to make their way south with low cost products on sale like Amazon’s Kindle Fire, the new Google Nexus 7 and soon, Apple’s iPad Mini.

If there’s one thing that consumers love, it’s a bargain. Amazon has proved this with the launch of the Kindle Fire, a low-cost tablet that has been going down a storm in the US.

Released at the end of last year, Amazon took a hit on the pricing of the Fire in the hope that consumers would use the App Store to purchase content.

It was a gamble that paid off, with millions of people snapping up the bargain tablet – before buying plenty of content from Amazon.

The Fire’s success has not escaped the watch of other tech companies, with Google announcing its equally low-priced tablet, the Nexus 7, last week.

But where does that leave Apple, the king of the tablet market? The US tech giant is not one to follow fashion, but rumours of a low-cost iPad have been circulating for some time. So what’s the latest juicy gossip?

Apple iPad Mini display

Rumours of an iPad Mini have been going for almost as long as the full-sized iPad has been around, but with the Nexus 7 taking the headlines recent, iPad Mini news has been a little thin on the ground of late.

But recent reports have come to light, adding weight to the speculation of a 7.85-inch screen with a pixel density of 330pi – meaning we could see a retina display featured.

Apple iPad Mini release date

Various reports have put the release date of the iPad Mini at all manner of points, but the consensus is that – if it’s released at all – we’ll see it before the end of the year.

With the release of the Nexus 7 due later this month, Apple won’t want to waste any time in going head-to-head with its mobile rival.